Titanic Sub Operator Is 'Mobilizing All Options'

OceanGate says it is rushing a remotely operated vehicle to the site
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 19, 2023 2:14 PM CDT
Titanic Sub Operator Is 'Mobilizing All Options'
This photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible.   (OceanGate Expeditions via AP)

The operator of the submersible that went missing on a dive to the wreckage of the Titanic says it is "exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely." In a statement, OceanGate Expeditions said its "entire focus is on the crew members in the submersible and their families," the CBC reports. The company says it lost contact with the sub, which has a 96-hour oxygen supply, Sunday morning. OceanGate says it is rushing to get a remotely operated vehicle capable of diving 20,000 feet to the site. The Titan submersible vessel has a capacity of five, though it's not clear how many people are on board. Action Aviation has confirmed that its chairman, British billionaire Hamish Harding, was on the sub, the AP reports

"Every attempt is being made for a rescue mission. There is still plenty of time to facilitate a rescue mission, there is equipment on board for survival in this event,” said Mark Butler, the aviation company's managing director. In a Facebook post Saturday, Harding said the expedition "is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023. A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow."

Canada's Coast Guard says a military aircraft and a Coast Guard ship have been sent to assist the US Coast Guard with the search and rescue operation around 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, the New York Times reports. Experts say it's not clear what happened to the sub, though there is a chance it could have released a drop weight after losing power and is on the surface of the water waiting to be found. Parks Stephenson, technical director on James Cameron's Titanic movie, says the loss of communication with the vessel is a "highly unusual event," reports the BBC. (More Titanic stories.)

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